Chapter 22 #2
There was something powerful about seeing the pain in her eyes yet hearing the determination in her voice.
If what Mikhail had told me was really true, her father would be proud.
“Not as much as when we first met. Let me make myself clear, Fallon. You are going to tell me the truth about your sister. As you might imagine, I find it incredibly coincidental that you took the place of a man who ended up dead.”
She gasped, another round of both hatred and disbelief torching her lovely eyes. “You’re lying to me.”
“No, I am not. Your friend was correct. He was in a club last night.”
“Why? How?”
“Either the friend you mentioned coerced him into asking you to do him a favor, or Jeffrey was paid. Now, we won’t know the truth.”
I noticed she was shaking but doing her best to keep herself together. “Oh, God. Oh… God. How did he die?”
“He was gunned down leaving the club. At this point, no one saw anything. Make no mistake, it was a hit. When I said you were in danger, I wasn’t lying to you. The best thing that can happen is for you to tell me everything you know about Megan and why you ran away from Chicago.”
“You’re a bastard.”
“I’m not trying to be, Fallon, but I also don’t like being used. I’m certain you can understand that.”
She briefly closed her eyes, the slight wrinkle in her brow a dead giveaway as to her frustration. When she began to talk, her voice was full of clipped anger, but it softened as the memories hit her as brutally as they’d done in my mind.
“Megan was several years older than me. She was the adventurous type. She was beautiful and as you said, perfect with anything she set her mind to. For a shy little girl like me, Megan was something special. Always laughing. Always happy. She was a free spirit, just like my mom was. I remember hearing Dad tease her that he’d need to fight the boys off with a stick.
He was right. She was special and everyone around her knew it. ”
Her faraway eyes were a dead giveaway she was remembering, not creating.
“Where were you living at the time?”
“Colorado. A little town that I loved so much. Both Megan and I were born there. She hated it except for the animals. Talk about being a horse whisperer. Megan had a way with animals that was unbelievable. I think that’s why I fell in love with them, but living on a ranch wasn’t good enough for her.
She always had big dreams. Some nights when I couldn’t sleep, I’d crawl into her bed and she’d tell me about all the glorious places she wanted to go visit.
One of her favorite cities was Las Vegas. ”
Fuck. I needed a goddamn drink. I yanked the glass from where I’d placed it on the table, tossing back the entire contents.
She barely lifted her gaze, lost in the memory as I’d been so many damn times.
“We were so happy, at least it seemed like we were. Megan lived at home, but was going to community college there. We lived simply and didn’t have very much, but I certainly didn’t know. I was five, almost ready to turn six and I loved the outdoors. But everything changed.”
“What changed, Fallon?”
“My father had always warned us that there were bad people in the world. One day, I came home from kindergarten and my dad was in his study. I heard voices. Mom quickly whisked me away, grabbing Megan and we took a drive. We went to go get ice cream. I asked her what was wrong and she said just something Daddy was going through. Business. Megan and I knew whatever was going on had upset both our parents. Later that night, Megan told me that there’d been strange phone calls.
She told me Dad was upset and whoever visited had made him very angry. ”
“Any idea who the calls were from and who visited?’
“Not as a child. I asked my mom and of course she told me not to worry about it. Still, Daddy started talking about moving. That much I remember clearly because they argued, which they almost never did. Mom didn’t want to leave her home.
Neither did I for that matter. Then out of the blue Megan wasn’t happy any longer.
I asked her why and she refused to tell me. I remember seeing fear in her eyes.”
Fallon looked away, struggling with the memory. We both were. “Go on.”
She threw me a rebellious look before continuing.
“She’d applied for and had been accepted to another college.
Somewhere in California. I was surprised when Dad encouraged her to go.
After that, we were going to move. It had all been decided.
I think somewhere close to where Megan was going to attend college. But we never got a chance.”
“Why?”
She hung her head into her hands briefly.
Tears had stained her face when she lifted her head once again.
“Dad was in a horrible car accident. A drunk driver broadsided him. I was told he died instantly. I was so young I think I believed he would come back. After that, nothing was the same. I thought we’d stay since Daddy was buried in Colorado, but Mama insisted we leave and go home.
I thought Colorado was our home. A couple weeks later we moved to Chicago. ”
A car accident.
“Who was your father, Fallon?”
“Um… Steven Zimmerman.”
At this point, I could tell she was providing me with the truth. When Megan arrived in Vegas, she was almost twenty. I’d even kept the lie that she was twenty-one so she would be able to bartend. I was pressing the tips of my fingers together with so much force they were white.
If what Mikhail had told me was true, Steven Zimmerman had managed to keep himself off the grid for almost twenty years. That took skill and guts given his real identity.
“What about Megan?”
“She wanted nothing to do with our life there. I know she took Daddy’s death harder than she let on.
I could tell his death changed her. She even looked different than I’d remembered.
We used to talk about everything. Then her letters and calls stopped.
A few months later, we learned she’d left school.
Mama was beside herself, trying to find her.
It was as if she’d just disappeared. After a few weeks, Mama boxed up everything that belonged to her, acting like she didn’t exist. I was heartbroken. ”
“So was your mother.”
“I know she was. Mama changed too after everything that had occurred. She had to work several jobs just to keep a roof over our heads. Things were so different. We never heard from Megan again. Now, I know why.” She sat back, stroking her fingers behind Bella’s ear.
“What happened to Ladybug?” Her eyes were hopeful as if the pup was still alive.
“She’s been gone for about five years.”
“Did you keep her?” Her voice was breaking.
The hard edges that I’d tried to form around myself were completely gone. Seeing Fallon suffer was very difficult. No one was that good of an actress.
“I tried to keep her with me, but I was no good in the state I was in. You need to understand I was an angry man. All I could think about was revenge. After my family intervened, my aunt took her from me. That’s where Ladybug remained until she died ten years later.
At least I got to see her, but the pain was too intense. ”
“I’m so sorry.” The look of distrust remained in her eyes. I couldn’t blame her.
Sighing, I looked away. “Tell me about Luis Esposito.”
The moment Fallon jerked her head back up, I gathered not only another sense of fear, but anger that equaled mine.
“He’s a fucking son of a bitch, a predator who lured my mother into marriage.
She thought she loved him. She was so broken, so fucking broken at losing the love of her life that she didn’t see the man for what he was.
A fucking criminal. He was the hired gun of a mafia family.
A Capo or something. I didn’t understand the politics of what was happening at first. He entered my life when I was ten.
Later, I realized what a monster he was. ” Her glare remained harsh.
“A Capo di tutti for Giovanni Bruni, a brutal mafia leader from Chicago.”
“Yes. How did…”
“It didn’t take my family long to connect the dots, Fallon.” Now I understood much better her initial reaction to me. She’d had a bad experience with some horrible people. The coincidences couldn’t be ignored.
“He killed Megan. Didn’t he?” Her voice was so damn small, barely audible, yet through tears I could see determination.
“It was likely that his men handled the assassination under his orders.” I was surprised how calm I was at this point.
“Why? Why kill my sister?”
“My guess is that because Giovanni considered her tainted.”
“What?” She leaned forward, shaking her head. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Russians and Italians have been notorious enemies for generations.”
She cocked her head, trying to absorb what I was saying. “We weren’t Italian. My father was…” When she didn’t finish, she looked away.
I took the opportunity to bring her a glass of wine and refill my drink. “What did your father look like?”
“Why is that important?”
“Just answer the question, Fallon. Please.”
“It’s funny how memories can fade over time and Luis didn’t want my father mentioned at all.
There were no pictures of my previous life allowed to be placed on bookshelves, no conversations allowed.
But Luis couldn’t keep me from remembering my own father.
He was tall with dark hair that was so thick.
I used to love to tug on it. Drove him crazy. ”
“Your mother was blonde.”
“Yes, Megan and I took after her, something Daddy teased us about.” She appeared more uncomfortable.
“You’re still not telling me everything. Are you?”
“No. There is something else you should know. My apartment was trashed and someone left me a note.” Her fingers were shaking as she handed me her phone.
“If you really think I’m responsible for whatever is happening and the reason you were brought here, you are dead wrong.
I never wanted any of this. Do you understand I have no one left? My entire family is gone.”
Her words faded. As soon as I glanced at the picture, the anger returned. No one laid claim to… No one laid claim to what belonged to me. “Who the fuck did this?”
“My stepbrother. Antonio Esposito. Another piece of garbage.”
“The man who hit you.”
“Yes. What do you care?”
I slowly lifted my head. “I care very much, Fallon. That’s what you need to understand and before you say anything, this has nothing to do with Megan. You are not your sister.” My words were a complete shock. To both of us.
“Then what the hell am I? Why am I here?”
“To be used as a weakness.” I half laughed, the bitterness of being played so well just another reminder that I’d ignored my own instincts.
“A weakness. From Ludolf?”
“I do not know for certain.”
She took a few shallow breaths. “Then there’s something else you need to know, Vissarian. I don’t understand what is going on or why I’m in the middle of this nightmare, but my mother and Luis were recently murdered.”
“Yes, I know. I just found out.”
Her eyes flashed. “Then what are you doing? Are you trying to tell me that I’m lying, or do you just want me to go through the horror all over again?”
“I thought you were sent here by Bruni or by Ludolf to use the past with Megan against me. If you were, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Goddamn it. You keep spouting off about trust, Vissarian. I have no idea what in the hell is going on. You throw out several details, including that someone I believed I cared about is dead. Murdered. It’s all very difficult for me to process.
If you can’t understand that then I was right about you in the beginning. ”
“You’re right. However, try and remember that discovering you’re Megan’s sister has been traumatic for me. Questioning everything is what I do as a necessity.”
Seeing the way her eyes sparked was another reminder the two women were flesh and blood.
“In your dangerous world where criminals kill innocent people,” she retorted, her features softening.
“I always believed Megan was alive. I thought one day she’d find me.
I had fantasies about reconnecting. For a long time, I tried calling her number, but after a few months, her voice no longer existed.
All this time and she was dead. Dead! She was my sister. ”
The horrible tension was difficult on both of us.
“Wait. My real father. Was he murdered?” Her natural resolve was returning.
“It’s possible. That I don’t know.”
“Would you tell me if you did?”
I nodded. “Yes, Fallon. I’m not your enemy.”
“And I’m not yours. I know Antonio killed his own father and my mother.
My guess was to move up in the big Bruni mafia organization.
He thinks I belong to him. He knew I’d be forced to return to Chicago.
I wouldn’t put it past him to kill them, so I’d return.
The fucker cornered me in my house. He was so angry, furious that I wouldn’t accept his advances.
As if I belonged to him. He got a taste of his own medicine. ”
She had no understanding of how dangerous the Bruni family could be, even after all she’d heard. If anyone dared believe they would take her from me, they were wrong.
“Over my dead body will anyone ever touch you again.” My growl surprised her.
“You act like you give a damn.”
Cocking my head, I wished I could find the right words to say to her. “I do.”
“How are you going to stop Antonio?”
“Don’t underestimate me, Fallon. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
“Maybe I don’t want to. My mother died because she loved the wrong person.”
“Yes, but not the one you’re thinking of.”
“What does that mean?”
Fuck. I hadn’t been prepared to or wanted to drop the damn bomb I’d heard only minutes before, but perhaps she should know the truth. About everything.
“That means your biological father was considered Italian royalty.”
She shrank back. “My mother left me a voicemail before she died. She called me royalty. What does that mean and why? I have a right to know.”
“That’s because you are highly valuable.”
“Who am I?” Her jaw was clenched.
I hesitated, but the agony we’d both shared because of the Bruni family was at least a cross we could bear together.
“Your father was Marcos Bruni, firstborn son of Giovanni Bruni. From what my cousin, the Pakhan was able to piece together, he fell in love with your mother and left the family, changing his name in the process. He wanted no part of the life he’d been born into. ”
There were no words to describe seeing someone going through an ugly reality that would forever change their lives.
Through her eyes, I witnessed exactly what I’d experienced alongside her sister all those years ago.
What I didn’t tell her was that I believed she’d been promised in marriage to someone in exchange for what always fueled the arrangements.
Power.